Endostatin, a 183 amino acid proteolytic cleavage fragment corresponding to the C-terminus of collagen 18, has anti-tumor activity with no toxic side effects (O'Reilly et al. (1997) Cell, 88: 277-285; Kisker et al. (2001) Cancer Res, 61:7669-7674; Dhanabal et al. (1999) Cancer Res, 59: 189-197; Yoon et al. (1999) Cancer Res, 59: 6251-6256; Folkman and Kalluri, (2003) Cancer Medicine, 6th edition, pp. 161-194. Hamilton: B. C. Decker Inc.). A number of anti-angiogenic activities have been reported for this protein, such as inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation. This activity has been localized to the N-terminal region of endostatin. Endostatin also suppresses vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced vascular permeability (Takahashi et al. (2003) Faseb J, 17: 896-898). Endostatin inhibits endothelial cell migration by inhibiting phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase via binding to a531 integrin (Wickstrom et al. (2002) Cancer Res, 62: 5580-5589). It also has been shown that cell surface glypicans are low-affinity endostatin receptors (Karumanchi et al. (2001) Mol Cell, 7: 811-822). Endostatin has been implicated in several signaling pathways, such as downregulation of c-myc (Shichiri and Hirata (2001) Faseb J, 15: 1044-1053), cyclin-D1 (Hanai et al. (2002) J Biol Chem, 277. 16464-16469) and RhoA activity (Wickstrom et al. (2003) J Biol Chem, 278: 37895-37901), blockage of VEGF signaling (Hajitou et al. (2002) Faseb J, 16: 1802-1804; Kim et al. (2002) J Biol Chem, 277: 27872-27879), and inhibition of the wnt-signaling pathway (Hanai et al. (2002) J Cell Biol, 158: 529-539). Furthermore, endostatin has been shown to bind and inactivate metalloproteinases (Kim et al. (2000) Cancer Res, 60: 5410-5413; Nyberg et al. (2003) J Biol Chem, 278: 22404-22411; Lee et al. (2002) FEBS Lett, 519: 147-152) and to regulate a spectrum of genes which suppress angiogenesis (Abdollahi et al. (2004) Mol Cell, 13: 649-663).
The crystal structures of both murine and human endostatin have been resolved (Hohenester et al. (1998) Embo J, 17: 1656-1664; Ding et al. (1998) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 95: 10443-10448) and show a noncovalently held dimer at high concentration required for crystallization (Ding et al. (1998) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 95: 10443-10448). The presence of two disulfide bonds results in a highly folded structure. Endostatin binds one atom of zinc per monomer via the three histidines in the N-terminus of the molecule (histidines 1, 3, and 11) and asparatic 76. The heparin binding property of endostatin is mediated by noncontiguous arginines clustered over the three dimensional globular surface of the molecule (Sasaki et al. (1999) Embo J, 18: 6240-6248).
Excessive deposition of extra cellular matrix (ECM) components such as fibronectin (FN) and type I collagen (Col1α1) by organ fibroblasts is defined as fibrosis. Organ fibrosis is the final common pathway for many diseases that result in end-stage organ failure. However, effective therapy for organ fibrosis is still unavailable (see, for example, Bjoraker et al., Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care. Med. 2000; 157:199-203). Uncontrollable wound-healing responses, including acute and chronic inflammation, angiogenesis, activation of resident cells, and ECM remodeling, are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of fibrosis (Wynn, J Clin Invest 2007; 117:524-29; Kalluri et al., Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 2000; 9:413-8). TGF-β is the prototype fibrotic cytokine that is increased in fibrotic organs and contributes to the development of fibrosis by stimulating the synthesis of ECM molecules, activating fibroblasts to α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)-expressing myofibroblasts, and downregulating matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) (see, for example, Branton et al., Microbes Infect 1999; 1:1349-65). Despite high expectations, a clinical trial of a monoclonal anti-TGF-β antibody in patients with early SSc failed to show any efficacy (Varga et al., Nature Reviews Rheumatology 2009; 5:200-6). Thus, a need remains for other treatments of fibrosis.